Oscar Bait and Switch: A GQ Guide to 40 Must-See Movies This Fall

September 9

Warrior

The mid martial arts father-son drama you never knew you needed. Director Gavin O'Connor—he of grown-men-cry classic Miracle—is behind this somewhat ludicrous, but never less than gripping portrait of two long-lost brothers and their parallel journeys to glory in the Octagon. Warning: It features men punching and hugging.

September 9

Contagion

When your strongest promotional angle is spotlighting the grim death of Gwyneth Paltrow's character, you know you're dealing with a savvy studio. The Goop Queen does eat it in the opening half of this outbreak thriller from Steven Soderbergh, and for that we nod politely at the director, acknowledging his wry wit and knack for wish fulfillment. With a cast that includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Bryan Cranston, and others, this also happens to be the Ocean's Eleven of people catching bird flu and looking horrified.

September 16

Straw Dogs

This seems like a totally unnecessary remake of Sam Peckinpah's horrifying, skin-crawling 1971 rape thriller. And yet, here it comes, with James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, and Alexander Skarsgård in the leads and the setting transported by director Rod Lurie from the English countryside to the Deep South. Otherwise (we guess?) same movie.

September 16

Drive

Ryan Gosling, he of the perfect pursuit and the heavy-lidded stare, stars in this genre gem from Danish virtuoso Nicolas Winding Refn about a stunt car driver who doubles as a getaway man for hire. There will be cars, there will be chaos, there will be Christina (Hendricks).

September 23

Moneyball

Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane has long been pitched as the Brad Pitt of baseball—smarter than he looks and just good enough to take seriously. So it's fitting that the long-gestating adaptation of Michael Lewis's financial tome about the market flaws of America's pastime comes courtesy Pitt. And it sure has prestige project written all over it. With a tuned-up script from Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian—a veritable two-headed dragon of respected Hollywood scribes—and some of that underdog sports movie pixie dust on the surface, the intentions here, noble though they are, seem pretty straightforward.

September 23

Killer Elite

The last time Robert De Niro was seen firing an assault rifle in the middle of a street, the world was basking in Heat. No promises that Killer Elite, the maybe-true story of an elite British hit squad, will have that sort of ammunition. But hey, at least Bobby D's not yukking it up with Ben Stiller, right?

September 30

Take Shelter

You know Michael Shannon. He is the mad-eyed character actor du jour, lashing his sins away on HBO's Boardwalk Empire and turning mania into catharsis in 2009's Revolutionary Road. Now he is a mad-eyed father consumed by the need to build a storm shelter in this epic drama. And the awards buzz is building for his performance. Again, the man is good at being mad-eyed.

September 30

50/50

Based on a true-life story of writer Will Reiser's battle with cancer at 24 years old (the film's original title was I'm With Cancer), 50/50 is an alternately weepy and outrageous man-dramedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the patient and Seth Rogen as his best pal. Life-threatening illness says Bait. Rogen's presence says Blockbuster. We say Both.

October 7

Real Steel

Robots! Boxing! For! Money! Hugh! Jackman! Grinning! Maniacally!

October 7

The Ides of March

Political paranoia thrillers—think Three Days of the Condor or All The President's Men— are an endangered species, victims of adult drama-squeezing times in Hollywood. But George Clooney has always been a champion of dying breeds. The actor co-wrote, directed, and stars in the adaptation of former Howard Dean aide Beau Willimon's play about the lurid inner workings of a presidential candidate's campaign. Gosling plays Willimon's naive stand-in, while Evan Rachel Wood plays the romantic distraction. Clooney, naturally, is the candidate. Get your tus ready, boys.

October 14

The Thing

John Carpenter's reconsideration of Christian Nyby's frozen monster scare-a-thon is one of the very best movies of the '80s; a truly enduring horror flick. This update/prequel, which concerns a team of scientists trapped in the Antarctic battling a creature that drinks the blood and then assumes the form of its victims, is technically a remake of a remake. Which is not promising.

October 14

The Skin I Live In

Antonio Banderas owes Pedro Almodóvar a massive debt of gratitude—the famed Spanish filmmaker pushed the actor to brilliant, manic performances in the late '80s and early '90s in films like Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! before he made the leap to Hollywood. Now, two decades on, they've reunited for this creepy character study. Almodóvar's films are never less than interesting and Banderas sure could use some cred in this Puss in Boots world.

October 21

Martha Marcy May Marlene

It Girl Elizabeth Olsen (yep, Mary-Kate and Ashley's younger sister) was the talk of Sundance in January, and rightly so, thanks to this drama about a woman trapped in a cult. Peep gentle creep extraordinaire John Hawkes (Deadwood, Winter's Bone) as the David Koresh-esque leader.

October 21

Margin Call

Financial crisis got you down? Nothing like a potboiler about the very people that ganked your 401k to lift your spirits (if not that retirement fund). Margin Call, which traces 24 hours in the life of a melting-down investment bank, ran into some harsh criticism at Sundance, but with Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, and Demi Moore in full-blown ice princess mode, we suspect there's some Glengarry Glen Ross-style barking about to be happening here.

October 28

The Rum Diary

The last time Johnny Depp dove deep into a Hunter S. Thompson adaptation, we got Terry Gilliam's lizard-infested, hallucinogenic drug storm Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This time around promises a more suave Depp—gone are the fisherman's hat and Hawaiian shirt—as his journalist travels to Puerto Rico and falls for a woman, played by Amber Heard. You may have heard of her.

October 28

In Time

This is the sort of movie that defies pithy Fall Preview blurbs, but here goes: In the near future, people stop aging at 25 years old and time has become the world's most valuable currency. When Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) stumbles into a boatload of free time, he must elude authorities who don't trust how he got it in the first place. OK, that makes no sense. But! Very attractive humans like Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Wilde (who plays Timberlake's mom, har), Cillian Murphy, and Matt Bomer star alongside J.T. So, maybe you ought to see this heady sci-fi thriller from brain-scrambling director Andrew Niccol.

November 4

My Week with Marilyn

Michelle Williams hasn't exactly been emphasizing her lusty sensuality in recent years: In 2008's Wendy and Lucy she was a broke drifter with a lost dog. Last year, she was a miserable wife and mother in the romantic apocalypse Blue Valentine. And this year, she sported a bonnet on the Oregon Trail in Meek's Cutoff. So it's nice that with this Marilyn Monroe biopic she's reaching back to a time when she had Dawson Leery acting all leery, amirite? OK, sorry.

November 4

Tower Heist

Brett Ratner directed this movie.

November 4

A Very Harold Kumar 3D Christmas

There is no reason that the third entry in the Harold Kumar series needs to be in 3D. Which is exactly why this movie is in 3D. Expect knowing commentary on that fact, and also jokes about getting high.

November 11

J. Edgar

Leonardo DiCaprio and Clint Eastwood team up for the first time for this true-life story of J. Edgar Hoover, America's top cop and a long-rumored closeted homosexual. Reportedly the film shies away from definitive judgments on Hoover's personal life, but unflinchingly portrays the depths of espionage he utilized in establishing the FBI as the country's premier crime-fighting unit. You can imagine how sweaty-palmed the Academy already is to nominate this film for everything.

November 11

Immortals

In the event you didn't think 300 was majestically violent enough, here is acclaimed music video director Tarsem Singh's (very loose) vision of the Greek myth of Theseus, starring ripped bros in sandals and breast plates. Soon-to-be Superman Henry Cavill stars as the King of Athens, though we're really excited for Mickey Rourke's portrayal of Hyperion, which we hope will feature his tattoos, gold teeth, and generally sunny disposition.

November 11

Melancholia

Lars von Trier may have scotched his chance at Oscar legitimacy with his outrageous Nazi comments at Cannes this year, but that doesn't make this film not one of his most beautiful and achingly poignant, in a fucked-up von Trier sort of way. On the eve of the apocalypse (seriously) we follow a disaffected woman, played by Kirsten Dunst, slowly detaching at her own wedding. As you can imagine, from there a Rodgers and Hammerstein revue breaks out. Kidding.

November 18

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

So. This is a move that's happening.

November 18

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

John le Carré's classic spy novel has already been adapted once, for a five-hour miniseries by the BBC which featured an iconic performance by Alec Guinness as the author's beloved hero, George Smiley. So some have cried blasphemy at this new version. To which we say: Shush! The cast in director Tomas Alfredson's version (Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, John Hurt) is impeccable, as the new Smiley—the great Gary Oldman—ain't such a shabby replacement for Obi-Wan.

November 23

The Muppets

Jason Segel has rightly been proclaiming that the Muppets are the bedrock for many a comedy nerd's foundations of humor. So it's only right that the Forgetting Sarah Marshall star resurrect Kermit co. for an old-fashioned Hensonian tale chock full of guest stars. None of this Muppets In Space/On a Boat/Celebrating Arbor Day stuff either. This is the Muppet Caper-era Segel's talking and we're concurring. Bring on the Gonzo. Literally.

November 23

The Artist

The darling of Cannes, this heartfelt and clever nod to silent films from French director Michel Hazanavicius tickled critics this summer. Hard to know what American audiences will make of it—statesiders John Goodman, James Cromwell, and Penelope Ann Miller do make appearances but no words are spoken, so it's no matter who shows up. Still, expect noms and plaudits.

November 23

The Descendants

Alexander Payne hasn't made a full-length film since he had us cursing merlot in Sideways seven years ago. His adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings's novel—about a man who, after his wife has slipped into a coma, learns of the extramarital affair she'd been conducting—has been a long time coming. But, with white male ennui at its core, he's in the Payne zone. Last time it produced five Oscar nominations. And awards show magnet George Clooney is his lead. So, see you in February, boys!

Jonah Hill's getting his chance for respectability in Moneyball. Call this his just-in-case comedy. That is, just in case people regard Moneyball like most kids regard baseball, there's always this deeply foul and funny comedy about an ill-equipped babysitter taking the kids he's looking after on a disturbing and dangerous trip through a city at night. Nothing like vulgarly cussing in front of small children to get that Aptovian stock up.

December 9

A Dangerous Method

David Cronenberg has emphatically exited his extended master of the grotesque psychodrama phase. He is now firmly in his elder creeping dread of the mind phase. And now he fully actualizes things with this true story of Sigmund Freud (Viggo Moretensen), Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), and the woman (Keira Knightley) who shattered their friendship. This is his third consecutive film with Mortensen, too. Last time, Viggo was seen wrestling with Russian thugs in the nude in 2007's Eastern Promises. One suspects his portrayal of Freud will feature no full-frontal. Maybe.

December 9

Young Adult

Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody go together like bees and honey. Which is to say, one's sweet and one stings, and we might need them both to keep the garden blooming. Juno was a certifiable craze (if an intensely irritating one) the last time they hooked up. Now, with Charlize Theron as a lady-child attempting to win back her adolescent sweetheart, now a family man, they have reunited for the next phase in the life cycle. We're actually sort of looking forward to this one. Honest to blog.

December 16

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Guy Ritchie return to this oddly violent and martial arts-laden take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's ace detective with bank deposit slips still cooling. Upside: Mad Men's debonair Jared Harris slides in as legendary archnemesis Professor Moriarty. Downside: Did you actually see the original?

A colon and a dash? This one means business. Though the third installment of the veritable spy franchise was the least successful, Tom Cruise and co. are back for another round. Early word is good, and why wouldn't it be? Pixar genius Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) grabs the reins here for his first live-action movie, and human simmering machine Jeremy Renner co-stars. Rumor has it he's being prepped to take over the series from Cruise. Attempting to take anything from Cruise seems foolhardy, so we'll see how that pans out. Either way, count on Tom running from things very quickly.

December 21

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Probably the most anticipated film of the year and with reason. Stieg Larsson's gruesome crime novel is among the most popular fiction in decades, while filmmaker David Fincher is exceptionally well-suited to its dark, haunting, and physically discomfiting techno-slug. Ordained breakout Rooney Mara has already sparked controversy thanks to a poster. And if that's got conservatives in a twist, well, it gets worse.

December 23

The Adventures of Tintin

Motion capture films have endured a long, strange trip. Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis has been the form's most committed advocate for more than a decade. Until, finally, this year, after the failure of Mars Needs Moms, when his digital studio was shuttered by Disney. Zemeckis may have been too far ahead of his time. In August, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (and actor/ape impersonator Andy Serkis) proved what was possible with the form. Now, as is their wont, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson seem primed to swoop in and really reap the benefits with their adaptation of this beloved European cartoon. Will American audiences care about Tintin? You fools! Spielberg will not be denied!

December 23

We Bought a Zoo

Cameron Crowe, like his contemporary Alexander Payne, is coming off an extended break in which he has endured the worst critical drubbing of his career and a divorce. Crowe has been very quiet about his new film, starring Matt Damon as an upended family man, and Scarlett Johansson as the woman who helps him after HE BUYS A ZOO. Which is a totally normal thing to do. This is based on a memoir, by the way, and not at all related to Zookeeper.

December 25

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Jonathan Safran Foer's tale of a young boy affected by September 11 is the stuff Oscar dreams are made of—until they aren't. Stephen Daldry has directed three feature films, two nominated for Best Picture and one for Best Director. Eric Roth adapted the screenplay. He's been nominated four times, won once. Oh, and did we mention this movie stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, the Lord and Lady of Oscar season? That said, this one seems like such a slam dunk, it's possible that's too much to bear. Every year, one heavily touted favorite stumbles out of the gate. Will this be the one? Because it probably isn't going to be the next film on our list.

December 28

War Horse

Remember that Spielberg guy? Right, well, he's got another movie this year—this one an adaptation of the Tony-winning play set during World War I about a horse. To recap: It's a war film about America directed by Steven Spielberg with award-winning source material. Maybe just send him the statue right now care of You Damn Right.

December TBD

Carnage

Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer, a 2010 thriller that snuck onto several Year-End lists, caught many by surprise and announced a sly comeback for the perpetually exiled and controversial filmmaker. This adaptation from the wildly celebrated one-act play, God of Carnage, by Yasmina Reza has higher expectations. And with a cast that features John C. Reilly, Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, and John C. Reilly that sounds about right.

Oscar Bait and Switch: A GQ Guide to 40 Must-See Movies This Fall

Every year, Hollywood pins its hopes for credibility to a handful of movies. But as the summer season creeps deeper into the fall, the cold months have become home to more aspiring blockbusters. Which is which this year? And which threaded the needle to be labeled both?

The mid martial arts father-son drama you never knew you needed. Director Gavin O'Connor—he of grown-men-cry classic Miracle—is behind this somewhat ludicrous, but never less than gripping portrait of two long-lost brothers and their parallel journeys to glory in the Octagon. Warning: It features men punching and hugging.